a different view of the West ….

Old Timber

Searching for some unique wood or reclaimed timber to build a farm table with, I came across a source of Longleaf Pine. You may have never heard of Longleaf Pine but it is an endangered species of pine. Reason? In the mid-1800″s there were 80,000,000 acres of this pine in the Southeast US and by 1910, it was pretty much gone. The primary reason being that the nature of the Longleaf Pine made it clear, straight and with few defects, it was ideal for shipbuilding. It was also the primary source for long straight timbers used to build the textile mills in the Southeast. I found someone who dissasymbles these old mills and brings them to Texas (2X2 beams pictured above in the warehouse) then runs them though a mill to create boards for floors, cabinets, home building, etc. I was lucky enough to find this material which will give a nice provenance to the table and am now experimenting with which color stain best compliments this beautiful old timber.